Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood (mini-review)

In The Memory of Blood the Peculiar Crimes Unit get called in to deal with the death of a child thrown from his bedroom window while elsewhere in the apartment his parents hold a party for the cast and crew of a play being performed in the theatre owned by the child’s father. It’s a PCU case because the door was locked, there seems to be no forensic evidence, and, well, there’s a life-size puppet of Mr Punch on the floor. Supernatural activity or human agency? Oooh.

Why did I want to read it?

My love for the Bryant & May series is well-documented on this blog. I’ve read the lot in order and wasn’t going to miss this one.

What did I think?

Loved it. I am a sucker for stories about the theatrical world and this one is chock full of corruption, venality and oddness amongst the suspects, plus a nice political back story for the assistant stage manager and the spectre of Home Office disapproval hanging over the case. As always I learned loads – about London, the theatre, Punch and Judy and much more. Didn’t work out who the murderer was which was nicely satisfying in a strange way. The series just gets better and better.

Conclusion

If you haven’t read any of the Bryant & May books, why ever not? Get on with it. You won’t be disappointed.